Bravo Zulus

Mech, Fall, 2003 by Terry Philbrick

During a post-flight inspection on an FA-18B (Strike 03), Mr. Philbrick-a Boeing plane captain-discovered the oil level on the port engine required servicing. While servicing the oil drains into the overflow bottle, he noticed the color didn't look right. The oil appeared to be almost black, so he secured servicing and notified maintenance control.

A conditional oil sample was taken, and it revealed extremely high levels of aluminum and copper, requiring and engine change. Mr. Philbricks keen attention to detail prevented a catastrophic engine failure during the aircraft's next flight.

AT3 Walter Shields HM-15

Petty Officer Shields was manning a fire bottle on Hurricane 00, which just had returned from a VOD mission in the Arabian Gulf. The pilots were getting ready to shut down the engines when something caught the AT3 Shield's attention. He noticed an excessive leak coming from the port engine area and immediately signaled the copilot to shut down the No. 1 engine. At that time, an aircrewman on longcord moved over and reported oil "pouring from the engine." The aircraft commander secured the engine and completed the shutdown checklist.

Maintainers determined oil was coming from the No. 1 nose gearbox and found the retaining bolt assembly for the oil filter housing had failed. This problem allowed housing to come apart, resulting in a rapid loss of nose gearbox oil quantity. The loss of oil pressure and increase in oil temperature would have caused excessive and unnecessary wear, affecting the performance and service life of the gearbox.

AD1 Christopher Howell HSL-42 Det 2

During a routine inspection on Proud Warrior 431, Petty Officer Howell found a cracked flex coupling on the high-speed shaft for the No. 1 engine. His keen attention to detail enabled him to find this small crack and to repair the shaft before major problems arose.

AD2 Adalberto Moran HSL-43 Det 4

A Seahawk helicopter from HS-8 was doing night deck-landing qualifications on USS Antietam when trouble arose. Loosefoot 612 was on short final when the crew and flight-deck personnel heard a loud pop, followed by a bright flash from the No. 1 engine. After the helo landed, flight-deck personnel inspected it, but they did not notice any visual damage.

Not satisfied with the initial look, AD2 Adalberto Moran of HSL-43 Det 4 examined the No. 1 engine more closely. Time was critical because the helicopter had to be back on station as plane guard, and he quickly identified the problem. He found a loose clamp for the ECS modulator valve was leaking bleed air, and he repaired it. The aircraft returned to plane-guard duties and later returned to USS Carl Vinson.

AD2 Anthony Hughes HSL-46

While trying to secure the stabilator of Cutlass 477, Petty Officer Hughes watched a huge wave come over the back of the flight deck and knock a maintainer off his feet, he quickly grabbed the Sailor by his float coat and hung onto the aircraft as the wave swept his shipmate four feet off the deck. Petty Officer Hughes' superb situational awareness and quick reflexes prevented a maintainer from going overboard in the middle of the night.

AD3 Edward Pearce VAQ-135

Petty Officer Pearce followed Raven 500 to cat 4 for a night launch from USS Nimitz (CVN 68). As the EA-6B taxied, he noticed white smoke and sparks coming from the exhaust duct for the forward air-conditioning system.

Using his superior judgment and knowledge of the EA-6B bleed-air system, Petty Officer Pearce diagnosed a forward air-conditioning-turbine failure. He immediately alerted the aircrew and flight-deck coordinator of this downing discrepancy and stopped the launch. His prompt action prevented an inevitable in-flight emergency and further damage to the aircraft.

AT3 Jason Countryman VAQ-138

While Rampage 502 was parked on elevator 2, aircrew worked on pre-launch checks before a night event. Troubleshooters and other maintainers surrounded the jet, making sure pre-launch gripes quickly were fixed and enabling the EA-6B to fly its mission. Other aircraft in the area also were getting pre-launch checks.

An aircraft parked to the right of 502 suddenly began to taxi forward out of its parking space, directing exhaust across the Prowler and the deck crew surrounding it. One member was caught off guard and began to slide toward the starboard intake of the Prowler.

Petty Officer Countryman saw that aircraft begin its turn, and he correctly anticipated the exhaust, leapt into action, and tackled the faltering Sailor to the deck, preventing him from being blown into an intake. His action saved a shipmate's life.

ADAN Damian White VFA-37

Airman White was the plane captain during a ground-maintenance turn on Ragin' 311. He suddenly noticed a tailpipe fire and immediately signaled the turn operator to initiate emergency-shutdown procedures. One of those steps is to "windmill" the engine. When that action failed to put out the fire, he signaled to secure the auxiliary-power unit. ADAN White then secured the fuel-control valve in the starboard wheelwell, taking away the fuel source and extinguishing the fire. His quick and decisive action prevented serious damage to the aircraft or injury to personnel.